 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Underworld
- Review Date: January 4, 2004
- R
- Genre: Horror
- 2003
Common Sense Media says
Pulpy, punk-ish story with some intense violence.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this is a dark, violent horror movie about battles to the death between vampires and werewolves. Non-stop action results in one grisly scene after another. The film contains countless bloody killings, decapitations, impalements, up-close vampire fang attacks, gun battles, point-blank shootings, and numerous gory transitions from human form into monstrous animal creatures. A few strong words are sprinkled throughout ("sonofabitch," multiple uses of "f--k," "s--t," "Jesus Christ"). Some characters smoke cigarettes, and it’s unclear whether vampires shown in a social setting multiple times are drinking red wine or blood.
What's the story?
UNDERWORLD begins with a stylish subway shoot-out. It turns out that there has been a centuries-long war between the vampires and the lycan. Now the lycan are very interested in a human doctor named Michael (Scott Speedman) and the vampires want to know why. Michael is rescued by Selene (Kate Beckinsdale), and he rescues her in return. She is ordered to kill him. But he did save her life. And he is kind of cute. And you can tell they are meant for each other because while everyone else in the movie has slicked-back hair, Michael's and Selene's hair falls adorably over their eyes.
Is it any good?
Imagine West Side Story with vampires and lycans (wolfmen) instead of Sharks and Jets and guns, blades, and teeth-piercing necks instead of musical numbers, then dress them all in Matrix-inspired goth-bondage attire and you'll have Underworld, a pulpy, punk-ish story filled with runes and ruins. This is the kind of movie where characters with names like Craven say things like "But what about the Covenant?" and the exposition explanation begins in the 5th century, dust is blown from the cover of weighty medieval tomes, and huge heavy chains hang down for no particular reason.
If this movie doesn't quite rise to the category of silly fun, it is a tolerable comic book-style time-waster with some stylistic flair and some energetic action sequences.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about how the conflict in this movie is similar to real-world conflicts. Where in the real world are people struggling with longstanding disagreements? Why do these conflicts get violent?
Why do you think the violence in this movie is so graphic? Is that part of the appeal of a film like this? What would the movie be like if it toned down the graphic imagery?
Why are vampires so fascinating?
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Kid, 12 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
awesome movie but......
for kids my age this may be a little too much on the scary/gory side but i'd say it has awesome action scenes
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Teen, 15 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
Just Okay
Underworld was an entertaining action thriller, but the story was fairly unengaging. It made up for that mostly with some good action scenes, though, but it still wasn't a very good movie.
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Teen, 16 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
R? Seriously?
Now, just because this movie wasn't the next Lord of the Rings doesn't mean it wasn't good. It was. I really liked it. People who spaz about violence can close their eyes. And the language isn't anything you don't hear every day after your first day of sixth grade. I don't really understand why parents feel the need to protect their children from harsh language. They hear it every day at school, whether or not parents accept that. But, it really is a good movie. It is edgy and punky, but in a good way. Make sure to see the directors cut. It fills in some of the tiny holes the regular version has.
Happy viewing...
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Teen, 16 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
One of my favorite movies...
This movie is for any hardcore fan. Kate Beckinsale is very hot and sexy, but extremely tough. The fighting scenes are always believable and so are the characters. A must-see for anyone in love with gory fantasies...and hardcore music.
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Teen, 14 years old
July 16, 2010
AGE
the real vampires... Xb
im so sick of twilight but ill tell u watching this was a relief... not anyway near as scary as i expected it to be... it was r im 13... but the gore was kind of nasty...
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Teen, 17 years old
July 4, 2009
AGE
Great movie
I love this movie. Much better than most vampire movies. Way better than 3 stars.
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Parent of 11 and 14 year old
June 15, 2009
AGE
A good compromise.
Personally one of my favorite films as an adult and fantasy buff.
As with any film, parents should make decisions based on their own children. My daughters are both young teens and love the Twilight series. I gave them the option to watch this with us. They were fine with it overall, maybe a bit squeamish with all the werewolf gore. In the end they got up not because it was offensive, but they were just disinterested with all the action.
13+ boys will likely love it, and I'd say it's fine for them. They're gonna watch this violence anyway whether we want them to or not, so this is a good compromise.
What other families should know:
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Teen, 15 years old
March 21, 2010
AGE
Great movie 15+
I personally LOVE this movie as well as the others in the series. For me this movie is not that scary at all (probably because me and my friend can make anything seem funny and we watch crime shows) but some parts can be scary. Only one small kiss between Selene and Michael and Sh*t is used a few times. amazing movie!
What other families should know:
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| Studio: | Screen Gems |
| Director: | Len Wiseman |
| Cast: | Kate Beckinsale, Michael Sheen, Scott Speedman |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Run time: | 121 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | September 18, 2003 |
| DVD release date: | January 5, 2004 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | strong violence/gore and some language |
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